With most athletic teams, a brother-like bond forms between teammates, but for the Denver hockey team this year, the family feel is taken even further.
This year, the Shore brother legacy continues as freshman forward Quentin Shore joins brother junior forward Nick Shore on the team following the departure of junior forward Drew Shore last season. In addition the Mermis brother legacy begins as freshman defenseman Dakota Mermis joins his brother junior forward Jarrod Mermis as a Pioneer.
Last season, the Shore brother duo had a large impact on DU hockey, as Drew led the team in points with 53 and goals with 22 throughout the season, while Nick scored third best on the team with 41 points and 13 goals. Jarrod also had 6 points last season and 3 goals.
“We aren’t really looking to bring in brothers; that’s never been a criteria for us when we are recruiting,” said head coach George Gwozdecky. “It just so happens, though, that in the sport of hockey, if one member of a family plays, usually others do as well. We have been very fortunate to recruit guys and find that their younger brothers are as talented or more talented as well.”
When building a team and refocusing after the loss of as many key players as Denver lost last year, finding strong chemistry within a team is vital.
According to Gwozdecky, the addition of Quentin and Dakota has helped in that because of the brother bond that already existed before they joined the Pioneer hockey team.
“I think if you are going to build a team and a group that works hard for each other, the better the players know each other, the better chance you have at becoming a solidified team,” said Gwozdecky. “Certainly if you have brothers, they know each other very well; they know how each other thinks and how each other works and the strengths and perhaps weaknesses, as well. In some ways that could be an advantage in building a strong team.”
Within the competitive hockey world, many athletes striving to one day make it to the NHL make the decision to leave their families at the age of 16 and play for developmental teams in different parts of the country, causing families to lose the opportunity to live and grow up together.
For both sets of brothers, they were given the opportunity to live together again after two years apart for the Shore brothers and four years for the Mermis brothers.
“I think it will just be a blast [playing with Jarrod],” said Dakota. “We are four years apart, so we never really come across the opportunity to play together. Being on the ice, the kind of chemistry we’ll have and being able to compete together will be really fun.”
According to Jarrod, he is happy to have the opportunity to be on the ice at the same time with his brother, an opportunity denied to them for most of their lives due to the age difference between the them.
“I love [having Dakota here]; it’s great,” said Jarrod. “We got to play together once before when I played for Lincoln, but this will be awesome because it will definitely be a lot longer.”
The Shore name is no stranger to Denver, either, as the legacy began with Drew and continued with Nick and now Quentin.
The family is a prominent one in the Denver hockey community between Drew, Nick, Quentin and younger brother Baker, who is 13 years old and playing on the Colorado Thunderbirds U13 team, along with heavy involvement in the Colorado hockey community by both the brothers’ parents and grandparents. Having the opportunity to reunite with the family is one the Shores are happy to have.
“Last year [with Drew] was great,” said Nick. “We had an apartment together, and I hadn’t lived with him in quite some time, so that was cool. But just the same sort of thing, he helped me out a ton throughout my whole career, but especially my first two years here. Having someone that you’re really close with coming to college your freshman year is always really cool, and I couldn’t say enough about what [Drew] did for me so far since I’ve been here.”
For Quentin, he made the decision to leave his family and play on the United States National Team Development Program hockey team in Ann Arbor, Mich., so the opportunity to come to Denver was even more special than just being on the ice with his brother; he had the opportunity to come home to his family as a whole.
“I lived in Michigan the last two years, so I kind of got the out-of-town scene and did all that and basically just wanted to be back not only with my brother but with my whole family,” said Quentin. “We are really close with our grandparents, and not only brothers, but everyone. Coming back to family and friends was just a dream come true.”
Coming back to Denver for Quentin also presents the opportunity to have his family watch him play again and support him from the sidelines every game.
In addition to his family supporting him from the stands, Quentin has the opportunity to be supported on the ice by his brother Nick as well, an opportunity denied to many.
“It’s both a sense of comfort and motivation, as well,” said Quentin. “He wants me to be my best and pushes me to be my best but at the same time he’ll help me.”
